McNutt Against the Music

One day, Carlton [Cuse, Lost producer] was looking at his mailbox and thinking this: ”Wow! No one would expect this — a rattlesnake in their mailbox!” He shared this in the writers’ room one day, and every writer turned to him and said, ”What kind of sick thought is that?! Of course no one would think of a rattlesnake being in their mailbox, because only an extremely sick, deranged individual would put one in there!” And it was that which made us think, ”Actually, a rattlesnake in the mailbox is the perfect name for what we’re doing in our finale.” Because only an extremely deranged individual would think of doing what we’re doing.
– Damon Lindelof, Lost writer/producer

Back in February, upon Lost’s return from a two-month hiatus, I wrote a self-righteous essay chastising those who had abandoned the show for a multitude of half-baked reasons, most scandalously for losing faith based mostly on the slow-to-build six-episode arc that started season 3. I concluded the article with the following:

Here’s the thing: when all is said and done, the critics might turn out to be right. When the show comes to an end in a few years time, we may all be able to agree that the show’s creators dragged the mysteries on far too long, and that the answers we got were completely unsatisfying. But to make such broad declarations and criticisms at this point in Lost’s lifespan is to have no faith, no confidence, and no belief in the show.

And I want to believe.

Last night that faith was rewarded. Well, to be fair, it’s been rewarded through much of a spectacular third season that, while not as consistently awesome as the universally-acclaimed first season, regularly reached similar heights. Last night’s finale may not have been as filled with answers as some other episodes this season have been, but it was two of the most well-structured and riveting two hours in the show’s history – even if we don’t talk about the “game-changing” “rattlesnake in the mailbox” ending.

If you’re looking for a complete spoiler-filled review and analysis, head over to my brother’s blog. In the meantime, I’ve got hints from the producers as to whether or not last night’s final scene represents a whole new direction for Lost after the fold (thar be spoilers ahead).

So clearly, the question that everyone is going to have as they wake up this morning is how Lost is going to change now that we have our first “flash forward.” Producers/showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carleton Cuse are keeping their mouths shut today – all their post-finale interviews have been exclusively about the decision to finally kill off Charlie. However, they did do an extensive interview with Entertainment Weekly when the 2010 end date was announced for Lost where they strongly indicated that last night’s finale represents a real shift in the structure of the show’s narrative (as if that wasn’t obvious). Here’s what they had to say:

By now, we’ve gotten to know these castaways pretty well. Take Jack. We know his issues. We know most everything we need to know about what’s at stake for him on the Island, what he’s been dealing with in his past. In light of this, will the flashback structure continue to be part of the show in future seasons, or will that be reinvented in the finale?
CUSE: Actually, we know very little about the fact that Jack has psoriasis.
LINDELOF: We also felt that a lot of people aren’t talking about psoriasis —
CUSE: — so we felt it would actually be a public service if we actually did a very detailed backstory about psoriasis.

Okay, seriously.
LINDELOF: The reality is, you do know everything there is to know about Jack as a character in terms of what’s driving him. But you don’t know everything that’s happened to Jack. And there is one sort of significant event that we’ve been holding back that happened to Jack and we’re going to show it in the season finale. And as all great flashbacks on the show are, they pertain directly to what’s happening on the Island.

Okay. But will the flashback structure be part of the show going forward?
LINDELOF: Let’s have that conversation after the finale.

Does the finale set up season four?
CUSE: Yes. The finale clearly sets up season four of the show, and hopefully in doing so, people will see there is still a lot of storytelling left in Lost and will feel really good about the 48 number.
LINDELOF: And it will make you realize that the house you are standing in actually has a lot more rooms than you thought when you came into it.

Once again, my dependable TV-expert brother has some thoughts on these questions as well.